Wally Ridout can hardly walk. He has nine stitches in one leg, a swollen knee on the other and a gash on his head after being struck by a car while on the sidewalk outside an Ambridge bar.

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"That could have been my life," he said.

Ridout said he and Celeste Knoll, the mother of his infant daughter, were leaving the Colonial Grill early Sunday morning when a man began arguing with the bar's owner outside.

Police said that man, later identified as Anthony Perri, was denied access to the bar. Ambridge Police Chief James Mann said Perri sped away, then turned his car around and drove onto the sidewalk, hitting Ridout and another man.

"I don't remember being hit, but I remember the car being in front of me, and me doing, like, a jump," said Ridout.

"Wally flew in the air, like, 10 feet," said Knoll.

Mann said Perri took off, but officers found tire tracks in the snow, which led them to Perri’s house. Mann said his officers kicked in the door, but Perri wasn't home.

Investigators said Perri returned later, noticed the damage to his door, then called police to report that his house had been broken into, at which point police arrived and arrested him.

"He's a pretty good dude, business owner, community guy, family man. He just got caught up and made a mistake," said Stan Bridges.

Bridges said Perri, a local barber, has been cutting his hair for decades and he is stunned at the accusations.

Mann said Perri was kicked out of the Ambridge Eagles earlier in the evening after an argument during a fundraiser there. Police said its unclear why he drove his car in to Ridout and Ridout's friend, but Ridout said he had never met Perri.

Perri is charged with aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.